Financial Independence: 8 Books to Help You Become Financially Independent and Retire Early

Financial independence is defined as having the freedom to do what you want, when you want. Being financially independent means you don’t have to work. Any work you have to do will not seem like work or interfere in your daily life. Financial independence and early retirement are possible, if you have access to the right resources and you’re able to take the necessary steps.

To become financially independent, you have to have the great self discipline. Its certainly not easy, but anything that is easy to get isn’t cherished, and if it was easy, everyone would be dong it. If you’re willing to do what it takes, here are the best books on retiring early, taking care of your personal finances and achieving financial independence.

Financial Independence: 8 Books to Help You Become Financially Independent and Retire Early

In Your Money or Your Life, money is introduced from a refreshingly new perspective. The book argues that you are currently making a “dying”, as opposed to making a “living”. A 9-step process is introduced to get you back on track toward living a fulfilled life through smart spending and financial independence.

Creating wealth is sort of like dieting. Everybody wants the end result but the discipline to achieve that result is usually lacking. Through research into U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, authors Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko identify that most individuals have a low net wealth compared to their income. They then provide advice to help people achieve a higher net worth compared to their income.

How many people graduate from high school and even college without knowing the basics of financial literacy – deciphering credit ratings, maintaining and balancing a bank account, getting through college with a minimum of student debt, making the most of that first job and, eventually, buying a home and planning for retirement?Orman strives to close this “financial illiteracy” gap by providing invaluable info for those just starting out.

Ramit starts with the premise that most people are so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of financial information available that they just shut down and do nothing. So Ramit tells you exactly what to do with your money and why, if you want to gain that illusive financial independence.

Burton Malkiel’sA Random Walk Down Wall Street is well known to be one of the modern classics on stock investing. It explains how investors make the same mistakes over and over again, and how you can avoid those mistakes. If you want to understand how the stock market works, and decide for yourself if you should be investing in index mutual funds or picking stocks, this book is a must-read.

This book is a series of parables about money written in the 1920s by George Clason. They were written as individual essays of a few thousand words, but the theme throughout them is consistent — save 10% of your money, give 10% away, use 10% to reduce your debt load, and live on the remaining 70%. The book also insists that charitable giving is important, provided you don’t allow those two whom you give to become dependent upon your gifts.